Woman with fibroid the size of a large mango felt forced to go private due to NHS waiting list
A woman who had a “mango-sized” fibroid removed from her uterus felt she had no choice but to go private after suffering for years on NHS waiting lists.
Chloe Keys, 26, has had Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) since she was a teenager, but in 2022 she found out she had large uterine fibroids.
The non-cancerous growths left her with very heavy periods that would cause regular monthly bleeding, excruciating stomach pains, heavy clotting, lethargy, low mood, and severe bloating.
The senior digital PR strategist from Belfast described leaving a “trail of blood on the city” when he went on holiday in Seville.
For this reason, she usually cannot leave the house for two weeks during her menstrual period.
The man from Manchester has spoken Independent just four weeks after surgery. “I would be a shell of a human being for half the month during my period,” she said.
“My stomach was swollen, before the surgery my fibroid was the size of a large mango, it was extremely painful.
“I was housebound, extremely anemic and severely depressed. No one was listening, no one was taking it seriously. I was left with no option but to go for surgery privately. Being at the beck and call of the NHS gynecology department was a life sentence.”
Ms Keys decided “enough is enough” after sitting in the hospital waiting room for an appointment with her consultant for a long time until the lights went out in February this year.
She said that when she learned the counselor was gone, she “collapsed into the nurse’s arms and cried.” “I waited nine months for this appointment and they canceled it while I was sitting in the waiting room,” Ms Keys said.
She also felt that her consultant strongly encouraged her to take the oral Ryeqo treatment to shrink fibroids. However, a side effect is that you may enter medical menopause during this treatment.
Ms Keys sought alternative treatments such as surgery because she did not want to go through medical menopause in her early twenties. But he claimed he was given the feeling he was going a “more difficult route”.
In a recent survey conducted by women’s health platform Hertility, more than 90 percent of respondents said they were concerned that their reproductive or hormonal health symptoms were not taken seriously by a healthcare professional. 83 percent repeatedly said they were not taken seriously.
Deirdre O’Neill, co-founder of Hertility, said: “Hertility was founded because too many women have lost trust in a system that often asks them to wait, wait for symptoms to worsen, wait for referrals, wait for answers. “We believe women deserve better.
“Healthcare should be preventive, personalized and sensitivity-focused, providing women with reliable, evidence-based insights and timely clinical support before minor concerns become lifelong problems.”
The PR worker said having women’s health issues felt like a “dirty little secret” that “dominated” her entire corporate career.
Ms. Keys described sitting through her senior presentations and bleeding through her clothes after heavy periods, but instead of excusing herself, she stayed because she was worried about how she would be perceived.
“I’m tired of having to leave your health at the door,” he said.
“It’s a taboo in the business world. I didn’t want to talk about my period because I was worried about appearing too dramatic or hormonal.”
He said he had to work from home most of the time, which he felt put him at a disadvantage in advancing his career.
According to Hertility’s 2026 Workplace Report, two in three female employees whose fatigue and anxiety are said to be “a part of life” have been given a new clinical diagnosis.
About 64 percent of female employees recorded an average of five concurrent symptoms, ranging from fatigue and anxiety to pain, confusion and low mood. Diagnoses ranged from PMOS to thyroid disorders to pelvic problems.
Ms. Keys is now advocating for companies to bring in outside trainers to train managers on how to support employees struggling with women’s health issues.
A spokesperson for Manchester University Foundation Trust said: “We sincerely apologize to Ms Keys for the rescheduling of some of her appointments and the brief cancellation she has experienced. We fully understand the disappointment this has caused.
“We appreciate patients’ frustration with waiting lists for some treatments and surgeries and we continually review our waiting lists and treat all our patients in clinical priority order. We welcome Ms Keys to contact us directly if she wishes to discuss any concerns further.”
According to the NHS, eight in 10 patients will be seen for treatment at Manchester University Foundation Gynecology Trust within 46 weeks.
There are currently more than 7 million people on the elective waiting list for non-urgent procedures nationally, but that number needs to be reduced over the next few years to meet the government’s target of 92 percent of patients waiting no more than 18 weeks for treatment.
Fibroids Awareness Month is celebrated throughout July to raise awareness about uterine fibroids. You can learn more Here.
